Russia has announced the capture of a second village in the eastern Donetsk region—in as many days—but officials in Kyiv insist that the fighting continues.
“We are not going to move anywhere but forward,” Yevhen Shmataliuk, commander of a Ukrainian assault brigade, said in an April 22 interview.
Earlier on the same day, Russia’s defense ministry claimed its forces had established full control over the Donetsk village of Novomykhailivka “and improved the tactical situation along the frontline.”
“Southern Battlegroup units fully liberated Novomykhailivka in the [Moscow-recognized] Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) … as a result of successful operations,” the ministry said in a statement.
Novomykhailivka is roughly 25 miles southwest of the Russian-held city of Donetsk, the capital of the region of the same name.
The ministry also claimed that Ukraine had lost more than 400 combat personnel, along with armored vehicles and an artillery system, over the previous 24 hours.
A day earlier, Moscow announced that its forces had also captured the Donetsk settlement of Bohdanivka, located north of Novomykhailivka.
Bohdanivka is roughly 6 miles northeast of Chasiv Yar, which has been the scene of intense ground fighting for weeks.
The fall of Chasiv Yar would bring Moscow one step closer to exerting control over the entire eastern Donbass region, which remains a key Russian objective.
Vuhledar in Crosshairs
Mr. Shmataliuk, whose brigade has fought on the frontline for weeks, challenged Russia’s recent battlefield assessment regarding the fate of Novomykhailivka.Contradicting claims by Russia’s defense ministry, he insisted that Ukrainian forces still controlled between 15 percent and 20 percent of the contested village.
The rest, according to the commander, remains under “fire control”—meaning it’s well within range of Ukrainian artillery and small-arms fire.
Igor Kimakovsky, a top DPR official, described Novomykhailivka as “strategically important” as it commands the approaches to the nearby town of Vuhledar.
The capture of Novomykhailivka, he told Russia’s TASS news agency, “brings us closer to encircling Vuhledar, a major Ukrainian transport hub in Donetsk.”
The Epoch Times could not independently verify claims made by either side.
Vuhledar sits roughly 30 miles southwest of Donetsk city and about 85 miles south of Bakhmut, which fell to Russian forces last summer.
Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022 with the stated aim of protecting Russian speakers in Donbass and halting NATO’s further eastward expansion.
Seven months later, Moscow effectively annexed Donbass (comprised of Donetsk and Luhansk) and two other regions and now considers them Russian Federation territory.
Backed by its powerful NATO-aligned Western allies, Kyiv has vowed to continue fighting numerically superior Russian forces until all lost territory is recovered.
US Assistance Fruitless: Moscow
Russia’s reported gains in Donetsk follow the passage of a $60 billion aid package for Ukraine, which the U.S. House of Representatives greenlit—after months of wrangling—on April 20.The bill, which also stipulates aid for Israel and Taiwan, will likely be approved this week by the U.S. Senate before being signed into law by President Joe Biden.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged Washington to expedite arms deliveries, saying long-range munitions and air-defense systems remained Kyiv’s top priorities.
“I think this support will really strengthen the armed forces of Ukraine, and we will have a chance for victory,” he said in an April 21 interview with NBC.
Mr. Zelenskyy also stressed the need for U.S.-made Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, to halt the relentless Russian advance.
“This is crucial,” the Ukrainian leader said. “These are the priorities now.”
The ATACMS is a delivery system for long-range guided missiles.
Last year, the White House confirmed it had provided Ukraine with a type of ATACMS capable of hitting targets at distances of more than 100 miles.
In October, Ukrainian forces used the long-range missile system for the first time, inflicting significant damage on two Russian airfields.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that promised arms and equipment—including ATACMS—would likely be “in transit [to Ukraine] by the end of the week.”
“I believe the [U.S.] administration was prepared over the last couple of months to provide ATACMS,” Mr. Warner told CBS on April 21.
“It’s written into the legislation,” he added.
According to U.S. officials, the judicious use of ATACMS would allow Ukraine to target previously unreachable Russian supply lines, air bases, and rail networks.
Moscow, for its part, says the fresh allocations of Western aid to Ukraine—both financial and military—will not be enough to turn the tide of battle.
“The Russian armed forces are improving their frontline positions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on April 21.
“The [Western] money allocated—and the weapons supplied—will not change this dynamic,” he told reporters.
“It will only lead to new victims on the Ukrainian side,” Mr. Peskov added.
